After Panda 2.0 back in April, the main search engine continues a process of refining and optimizing the SERP to provide a better quality for the users. Google has released their latest algorithm update, namely Panda 2.5 on the 28th September effecting major and small players in the World Wide Web.

Thanks to SearchMetrics, a search analytics agency that keep a wide track of websites’ rankings, some of the effects of the Panda update 2.5 are now visible.

There were some big surprises for major players such as The Next Web and NBC’s The Today Show which have been negatively affected. In the social bookmarking world, unexpectedly Technocrati has been hit hard, with Reddit, StumbleUpon and Digg celebrating for less competitors around.

Despite that, SEO consultants are keeping in mind that maybe SM hasn’t kept track of low traffic keywords that could have increased their rankings. On the other hand, the winner list is adorned by YouTube and other Larry Page owned sites such as Android.com and partners such as AOL.com and TV.com. Moreover, American news sites that have succeeded include the Washington Post, US Weekly and the Wall Street Journal.

Certainly YouTube’s rise from 3% to 9% as Aaron Wall of SEO book explains are bound to lead to criticisms because the company is actually favouring its own sites.

In conclusion, while many are trying to understand the changes and repair the damages, it seems necessary to optimize websites with ethical SEO practices in order to not be punished by the future Google updates that are going to analyse the on-page optimization and the back links much deeper.